You hide rich dark secrets
Burning and shining
In the dense cool water
You shimmer and shape shift
Breaking and crashing
The juicy mirror
Connecting the song lines
With lore and creation stories.
Mysterious nymph
Sweet winged creature
Ancient spirit of the river
Out of the deep and cool
Out of the muddy depths
You rise
You rise
Sweet winged creature
Eternal mythic being
Light my dreams .
If I listen closely to your sleepy ripples
I learn ancient wisdom
Ancestors, custodians – of this land, and waters
their deep knowledge
of how to take care for today and the future.
My own fragile wisdom, too arrogant to hear
Until I kneel beside you and look and listen
My reflection bright and clear
My whiteness blinding
To my weak apology
You show me how.
—Kakadu Collection
—4 November 2019
